With the exception of the Young Bond series of novels by Charlie Higson launched in 2005, James Bond for the most part is an ageless character in both films and literature. He is roughly in his late thirties.

Many Ian Fleming biographers agree that he never really intended to write as many James Bond adventures as he did and to keep writing the novels he had to “tinker with Bond’s early life” and change dates to ensure Bond was the appropriate age for the service, particularly due to a statement in Moonraker that 007 faced mandatory retirement from the 00 Section at age 45. In the same novel Bond notes that he has only eight years to go, and is, therefore, 37 years old. This approximate age carries on in continuation novels written by Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, and Raymond Benson.

Young Bond from ‘Double Or Die’ as depicted by Kev Walker.

Due to Fleming’s changes of dates and times in which events occurred, Bond’s specific birth year is unknown. Most researchers or biographers have concluded that Bond was born in 1920, 1921 or 1924.

It is also debated where James Bond was born. According to John Pearson and his book James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007, Bond was born near Essen, Germany; however, Charlie Higson, in his novel SilverFin claims Bond was born in Switzerland. Regardless, Bond is unquestionably British.

James Bond is the son of a Scottish father, Andrew Bond of Glencoe, and a Swiss mother, Monique Delacroix of the Canton de Vaud. Bond spent many of his early years abroad and became proficient in German and French due to his father’s work as a foreign representative of the Vickers armaments firm. When Bond was eleven, both of his parents died in a mountain climbing accident in the Aiguilles Rouges near Chamonix.

While Bond’s family did not have a motto initially, he was invited to adopt one during “Operation Corona” in the novel On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The motto, Orbis non sufficit is Latin for “The world is not enough.” The coat of arms and motto belong to Sir Thomas Bond, who was never proven to be of any relation to James Bond. He never requested research to confirm his potential genealogical relationship to Sir Thomas Bond and his family.

After the death of his parents, he subsequently went to live with his aunt, Miss Charmian Bond, who completed his early education. He later briefly attended Eton College starting at the age of “12 or thereabouts” (13 in Young Bond), but left after two halves when some “alleged” troubles with one of his maids came to light, although in the short story From a View to a Kill, Bond admits to losing his virginity on his first visit to Paris at the age of 16.

Due to these troubles, Bond was removed from Eton at his aunt’s request and sent to continue his education at Fettes College in Edinburgh, Scotland, his father’s old school. Per John Pearson’s Authorised Biography and an allusion by Fleming in From Russia with Love Bond also briefly attended the University of Geneva. With the exception of Fettes, Bond’s attendance at these schools parallels Fleming’s own life, as he attended these same schools.

The film version of You Only Live Twice asserts he is a graduate with a degree in Oriental languages from Cambridge University. He also attends (presumably at some point) Oxford to study Danish in Tomorrow Never Dies, although in the film he’s not there to study at all. Bond can speak a variety of different languages, most notably German, French, Russian and Japanese, although many times the languages Bond claims to know are contradicted between the film series, Fleming’s novel series, and even later films and continuation novels.

In 1941, Bond lied about his age in order to enter the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during World War II, from which he emerged with the rank of Commander. Bond maintains this rank while in the employ of the British Secret Service and through further continuation novels and in the films. Gardner promoted Bond to Captain in Win, Lose or Die. Since Benson’s Bond was rebooted, Bond became a Commander again. Bond also became a member of the RNVSR (Royal Naval Volunteer Supplementary Reserve) which was an association of officers with considerable wartime experience.

See also:

• Bond, James: Actors
• Bond, James: Birth debate
• Bond, James: Character
• Bond, James: Cinematic
• Bond, James: Description
• Bond, James: Habits
• Bond, James: Other drinking habits
• Bond, James: Personal Traits